Friction side seal



H. E. TOWNSEND.

FRICTION SIDE SEAL.

APPLICATION FILED MAYI5,19I7.

Patented Jan. 11, 1921.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EARRY E. TOWNSEND, OE BROOKLYN, NEw YORK, ASSIGNOR 'ro ANCHOR car a OLosURE OO PORATION, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OE NEW YORK.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented J .11 1921 Application filed May 15, 1917. Serial No; 168,774.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY E. TOWNSEND, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Friction side Seals, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates broadly to closures and more particularly to a metal clip closure as applied to glass receptacles.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a closure cap for glass receptacles and the like wherein a friction seal is maintained between the closure and the side wall of the receptacle by forces tending to restore the skirt of the closure to normal condition prior to the displacement when the seal is forced over the receptacle, and wherein the restoring forces-have an actlon somewhat resembling a toggle action. v

A further object of the present invention is to provide a closure for glass receptacles and the like wherein the closure cap is ma ntained in position on the receptacle by fr1ction contact at a sealing zone which is sub stantially the same for varying sized recep' tacles capable of being sealed by a particular sized closure.

A further object of the invention is to provide a closure designed for use on rigid receptacles, which is susceptible of removal from and effective re-use upon suitable vessels, the construction being such that the cap is not distorted or mutilated in removal and the resilient properties of the material are retained so as to be efiective in exerting a gripping action upon the vessel.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a closure comprising a friction seal for glass receptacles and the like and wherein the cross-section of the skirt of the cap is substantially two sides of a triangle with the sealing zone at the apex thereof.

Other and further, objects of the present invention will in part be obvious and will in part be pointed out hereinafter in the specification following by reference to the accompanying drawings wherein like parts are designated by like characters throughout the several figures thereof.

Figure l is a detail view illustrating a porfriction seal closures for glass receptacles,

the principal art being the closure disclosed in In prior application, filed May 16, 1916, Seria No. 97,871. The closure therein disclosed includes a cover cap having a skirt provided with a curved groove which is adapted to contact with the side wall of a receptacle and to form, a sealing zone therewith. This type of seal has been'very successful and the present invention comprises an im provement in the art along the lines of this particular closure. In the present case the skirt of the closure is provided on'its exterior with a groove which provides a bead on the interior of the skirt andl which bead comprises substantially straight. conical portions oppositely inclined to provide at their junction an apex'or ring of restricted area that is adapted to comprise the sealing'vzone. In this type of cap the seal is effected. by forcing the skirt over the substantially incompressible side wall of the glass rece tacle or the like and it will be not edfthat'tli exterior angle between the conical anembers is increased thereby leaving the material under compressive orce at the sealing 'zone point, which compressive force comprisesthe summation of forces acting through the conical members somewhat after the. fashion of a toggle action. The portions of the material lying in the original or outer annular zone of the skirt 2 form continuous circumferential restricting members which act under tension to hold the inpressed portion of the skirt under compression against the side of the vessel when the cap is in place. Variations in the circumference of the sealing zone are accommodated by the relative movement of these circumferential restricting members in the direction of the skirts depth. This construction permits the forming of a very tight friction seal on a relatively restricted zone of narrow width so that the gripping action between the sln'rt of the cap and the side wall of the receptacle is very effective. A cap of this construction will accommodate a considerably greater variation of sizes of vessels than those heretofore employed and, because of the fact that the sealing zone, or the zone of contact between the crown 7 of the internal bead and the side of the container, is not materially widened when the cap is used on an oversized vesseh theadvantage of the narrow sealing zone is maintained in all appllcations of this closure.

Referring now to the drawings, the preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a closure cap provided with a cover portion 1 from which depends a skirt 2 that is provided with an inwardly inclined conical portion a which meets an outwardly inclined conical portion 5, as at 6. These conical portions i and 5 form a groove on the exterior of the skirt of the cap and form a bead on the interior of the skirt of the cap with the smallest internal diameter of the bead, namely the ridge 7, adapted to contact with the side wall 8 of the receptacle 9. To seal a receptacle with this cap it is merely necessary to force the cap over the side wall 8 of the receptacle 9 and a seal 15 eifected by the reaction in the resilient material of the head which tends to resist the outward displacement of the crown of the head by the pressure of the vessel. This concentrates the compressive forces set up in the material of the cap upon the narrow crest of the bead which has bearing on the peripheral surface of the vessel,- and this concentration of the constrictin or compressive forces upon this narrow sea ing zone iseffective appreciably to compress the metal at the crest of the bead into irregularities 'onthe sealing surface of the vessel. This provides a seal which is practically water-tight on vessels of ordinary commercial finish. As previously stated Fig. 2 indicates a seal being formed on an over size glass Whereas Fig. a shows the seal being formed on an undersize receptacle.

Realizing that my invention may be capable of embodiment in structures other than those specifically disclosed I desire that the disclosure herewith be understood as illustrative and not in the limitin sense.

By virtue of this construct on of the portions of the cap which are active in constituting the side seal, the cap is susceptible to removal from the vessel without distortion or mutilation and may he used again upon the vessel, or upon similar vessels, to form an efiective side seal, as in the first use. The construction conserves the resiliency of the material which is effective to exercise the gripping action upon the vessel, so that, after the original use and removal of the cap, the same edective action of the parts is maintained.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is 1- 1. As an article of manufacture, a closure cap for application to rigid walled containers, comprising a cover portion adapted to form a closure for the mouth of a suitable vessel and an annular skirt portion depending from said cover portion to encompass the side wall of the vessel; said skirt portion being formed of resilient material and being provided with an inwardlystruck bead extending in the circumferential direc tion of the skirt, which head is pre-formed in substantially angular cross-sectional form before application of the cap to the vessel and with the crest of the bead providing a narrow contact member for engagement against the'wall of the vessel, said contact member being disposed on a circumference smaller than that of the vessel Wall portion on which it is designed to seat and the sides of the bead diverging outwardly therefrom, whereby the material in the bead may be placed under tension in its application to a rigid vessel so as to exert a resilient tog; gle-like action effective to maintain the crown of the head in close contact with the peripheral surface of the vessel wall, and to permit removal of the cap intact.

2. As an article of manufacture, a closure cap for application to tumblers and the like, comprising a cover portion constructed to form a closure for the mouth of a suitable vessel and an annular skirt portion depending fromthe cover portion in position to encompass the side wall of the vessel; the said skirt portion being formed of resilient material and being pre-formed, before application to a vessel, with an inwardly struck rib of angular cross-sectional form extending in the circumferential direction of the skirt, the crest of the said angular rib providing a narrow contact member inside of the cap for frictional retaining engagement against the peripheral face of the vessel and being formed on a shorter radius than the peripheral surface of the vesseli upon which it is designed to Seat; and portions of the skirt not included in said rib forming constraining members effective upon the material in the rib to resist expansive movement thereof under pressure applied to the crest of the rib, whereby the cap is adapted for effective application to and rgxlnoval from a suitable container repeate y.

3. As an article of manufacture, a closure cap for application to tumblers and the like, comprising a cover portion adapted to form a closure for the mouth of a suitable vessel and an annular skirt portion of substantial till depth depending from the cover portionv the vessel wall portion upon which it is de-.

signed to seat and adapted to engage the peripheral surface of the vessel under tension, the sides diverging outwardly to the perimeter of the skirt adjacent its upper and lower limits, the material in said inwardly protruding portion being of resilient quality and the side portions thereof being susceptible of convergent and divergent movement whereby to permit outward movement of the contact portion when. the cap isforced onto the vessel.

1. As an article of manufacture, a closure cap for application to tumblers and the like comprising a cover portion adapted to form a closure for the mouth of a suitable vessel and an annular skirt portion depend ing from the cover portion and adapted to encompass the side wall of the vessel; said skirt portion being of resilient material and pre-formed with an inwardly struck bead having its upper side inclined inwardly and its lower side inclined outwardly and with the crest of the bead providing a narrow contact portion adapted to engage the peripheral surface of the vessel-under tension of the resilient material in the skirt, the crest being formed on a circumference smaller than that-of the vessel wall portion on which it is designed to seat and the sides of the bead diverging outwardly to the perimeter of the skirt toward its upper and" lower limits and being susceptible of convergent and divergent movement whereby to permit outward movement'of the contact portion of the bead without increase in its width, the portions of the skirt not included in said bead forming constraining members effective to resist outward movement of the crest of the head.

5. As an article of manufacture, a closure cap for application to tumblers and the like,

a closure or the mouth of a suitable vessel and an annular skirt portion de ending from the cover portion and adapte to encompass the side wall of the vessel; said skirt portion being of considerable depth and preformed with an annular inwardly struck bead of angular cross-sectional form with the crest of the bead providing a narrow contact portion on a shorter radius than the rest of the skirt than the wall portion of the vessel upon which it is designed to seat and adapted to engage the peripheral surface of the vessel under resilient tension of the material in the skirt, and the sides of the bead diverging outwardly to the perimeter of the skirt, and material in said bead being of resilient quality and the side portions thereof being susceptible of convergent and divergent movement whereby to. permit outward movement of the contact portion of the bead without increase in its width. I

6. As an article of manufacture, a closure cap for application to tumblers and the like, comprising a cover portion constructed to forma closure for the mouth of a suitable vessel, and an annular skirt portion depending from the cover portion in position to encompass the side wall of the vessel; the

said skirt portion being of resilient material preformed to provide an inwardly struck rib extending in the circumferential direction of the skirt and having the cross-sectional contour of intersecting conic surfaces so as to provide a narrow contact member disposed on a circumference smaller than that of the vessel wall portion upon which it is designed to seat so as to have frictional and-removal from a suitable'container repeatedly.

HARRY E. TOWNSEND.

comprisin a cover portion adapted to form 

